Hermès, whose 177-year-old roots are in saddles and harnesses, has “grown up” to become a multifaceted luxury brand whose oeuvre today includes leather goods, fragrances, serious watches . . . and now the new Nautilus pen collection, which was designed by Marc Newson in conjunction with Pierre-Alexis Dumas.
Meet Caran d’Ache, a fully Swiss made, completely traditional pen and pencil manufacture located right in the heart of Geneva. This family-owned, family-run business operates like a watch manufacture. Indeed, the haute écriture products emerging from the workshops are at times comparable as unique works of art. Like the just plain amazing Caelograph, which allows one to see the position of the stars and the constellations.
Follow us on a day spent with professional golfer and Richard Mille ambassador Diana Luna at the Ladies Lacoste Open de France. The picturesquely-situated Chantaco Golf Club near Biarritz, France, set the sunny scene for golf, watches, and champagne: the perfect environment for Richard Mille timepieces such as the RM 007, the brand-new RM 07-01 and the RM 016.
The Sports watch category has always been one of the most hotly contested prizes because these are the watches that many people actually wear. Our pre-selected contenders in the Sports category this year are: the Bell & Ross BR126 Vintage Sport Heritage GMT Flyback, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback, the Aerofusion Chronograph Pelé by Hublot, Tissot’s T-Touch Expert Solar, the Tudor Heritage Ranger, and the El Primero Lightweight by Zenith.
Joshua Munchow had the good fortune to accompany Blancpain to the final race of the 2014 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo USA racing series at Road Atlanta. Follow him on his heart-pounding ride through the Super Trofeo Village, the Lamborghini race paddock and – naturally – on a hot lap around the track in a 2014 Aventador with one of the drivers as he test-drove L-Evolution-R Chronograph Flyback Rattrapante Grande Date in carbon fiber and red gold.
Today we introduce the latest resident writer to Quill & Pad, one who literally puts the “quill” into it! Nancy Olson has been an advocate of pens and the art of handwriting for twenty-five years, as well as probably the foremost authority on fine writing instruments, and we have the immense pleasure of adding yet another layer to our repertoire of luxury journalism and musings.
“If you’re wearing a Rolex, you’re wearing something special,” Sir Jackie Stewart said as we sat and talked on a sunny day in Carmel Valley, California during Pebble Beach car week.
However, the fascinating congregation of food, wine, people, and some of the world’s most expensive and interesting cars faded well into the background as the Flying Scot began to tell stories.
If you are a watch enthusiast or know people who are, I am sure that it has not escaped your notice that watch nuts are often car nuts and vice versa. Generalities aside, I can tell you that in my specific case I have been car crazy for as long as I have been a watch fanatic.
If you’re looking for a fun work of fiction with a serious watch theme to take on your holidays, you might want to go for ‘The Grand Complication’ by Allen Kurzweil. ‘The Grand Complication’ is a quick read, steeped not only in the legends of modern watchmaking, but also appealing to bibliophiles with its many references to literature and libraries.
Wilhelm (Bill) Kuettel is a typical participant in the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, however, his 1923 car differed from most of the other hundreds of cars taking part in the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance in a big way: Kuettel ‘s car was a legendary Hispano-Suiza (Spanish-Swiss), a near mythic brand that is half Swiss.